Fitness: Your Healthiest Addiction

The word addict has such a negative connotation, and for good reason. But what about being addicted to something great that is good for you? Well, it’s a good thing, as long as you don’t go too far and let it control your life.

You know that happy rush you get when you do a hard workout? That is known as an endorphin rush, and it has been scientifically proven to boost your mood and leave you feeling better than you did before the workout. This is why people chase that “runners high”- it’s really a thing! Anyone who runs or has competed in a race has experienced it and it is absolutely blissful.

When your body is under stress or experiences pain (in this case, in the form of tough exercise), endorphins are released in the brain….and fun fact: Endorphins are neurochemicals that are structurally similar to morphine!!! These endorphins help your body deal with the stress it’s going through so you are able to push through the discomfort and they give you a feeling of happiness.

Your brain also produces serotonin when you exercise, which sends you messages like “this is amazing!” “you are running and it is so wonderful”! so whether it is the endorphins or serotonin you are feeling, chances are exercise is bound to turn your day around.

Have you ever finished a workout and and said “Man, I wish I hadn’t done that”?!?! Has anyone?? Chances are no.

I know that I always feel better after a good workout, even if I wasn’t feeling it so much before I went.

A trick for me is this: I try to remember that amazing post-workout rush feeling whenever I don’t feel up to it…and that is usually enough to get my ass up and out the door: I am addicted to the rush!

So if you aren’t quite there yet like I am, just try to focus on your mood and how it’s affected by your workouts when you do them. If you start paying attention and appreciating the mood-boosting, sadness-busting feels from exercise, you’re sure to eventually start craving it and needing it a part of your lifestyle. Get addicted!

I am off to NYC now!! First time visiting since moving to LA….and I am excited. My good friends are getting married and we are celebrating the holiday weekend with friends and family. I’ll be posting my experience as a tourist in a city I called home for 9 years, so follow along!